06 March 2004	Saturday	14 Muharram 1425

ISLAMABAD, March 5: The Senate's Special Committee (SSC) on WTO will review the proposals received from various stakeholders to confront the challenges of WTO regime.

According to an official announcement, the meeting to be held on Saturday, would be headed by Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

The SSC has so far gathered proposals from representatives of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI), the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), food, agriculture and livestock sectors, the State Engineering Corporation, the Pakistan Engineering Development Board, the Pakistan Automobile Motors Association and the Pharmaceutical Association.

The representatives made presentations on challenges confronting Pakistan's engineering, automobile and pharmaceutical industries in the wake of WTO regime and their solutions in previous meetings.

The Saturday meeting will seek the views of the experts who will brief the SSC on the WTO issue. The experts include Dr Muhammad Zubair Khan, Dr Ashfaque H. Khan and Muhammad Saleem.

The 16-member special committee headed by Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was constituted by the House on September 22, 2003 to suggest ways and means to face the challenges of the WTO coming into force in 2005.